


Christian Rituals With My Fiancee's Jewish Boyfriend

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drama, Episode Tag, Episode: s03e09 Bartlet for America, F/M, Friendship, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-04-01
Updated: 2007-04-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 08:09:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15115298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: "The time we have together means everything to me and I refuse to share it; I don't care how selfish it sounds."





	Christian Rituals With My Fiancee's Jewish Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: The poem quoted by Sam is Derek Walcott's Love In The Valley.  


* * *

The three of them were laughing as the cab pulled up in front of her condo. Tish handed Lynda a $10 for her part of the ride.

“I had a really good time tonight guys. It was exactly what I needed.”

“Make sure to give Sam a big hug and kiss from all of us.” Karen said. “I'm sure he could use one.”

“I’ll take good care of him. Merry Christmas guys.”

“Call me for dinner before the New Year.” Lynda said, squeezing her hand.

Tish nodded, climbing out of the cab. She stepped up on the snowy curb and she noticed two men walking down the street as the cab pulled off. It only took a few moments to recognize her fiancée and his best friend. They were holding hands, as she and Sam had so many times when they walked home. Sam leaned to whisper something in his ear and Josh tilted a bit. They both laughed and Sam set him straight. He put his arms around him to keep him steady as they got closer. Tish held up her arm; felt the need to make her presence known.

“Hi there guys.”

Sam smiled, waving but unable to quicken the pace because of the snow and his tipsy companion. Tish wrapped her coat tighter around her as she waited for them to catch up. When they did, Sam kissed her lightly on the lips.

“What are you doing out here in the snow, honey?” he asked.

“I saw you coming so I waited. Hey Josh.”

“Yo ma'am.”

The Deputy Chief of Staff was definitely intoxicated. Sam asked if he could come up and Tish thought it was fine. Sam still had his arm around his friend as they walked up the steps and into the building.

“Crazy night?” Tish asked as they got onto the elevator.

As the doors closed, Sam leaned Josh on the wall and gave his fiancée the attention she wanted and deserved. Tish held his face, flushed from the cold, in her hands.

“We just needed to blow off some steam. You don’t mind Josh hanging out for a bit, do you?”

“We were supposed to decorate the Christmas tree and listen to some carols. You guys could use some cocoa I guess.”

“Not too much milk.” Sam said, once again taking hold of Josh as they got off the elevator. “Liquor and lactose don’t mix well for one of us.”

“Vicious lies Atisha!” Josh exclaimed. “Slanderous discourse!”

“Shh.” Sam put his finger on Josh’s lips and he bit it. Sam shouted and slapped his head gently. “Cut it out.”

“I would be perfectly happy to separate you two.” Tish said.

They were not paying much attention. In the condo, they tussled as Tish hung up her coat. She went straight to the kitchen, putting on a kettle of water as she checked the messages. There were four solicitation calls and her sister Susan saying she was home. Tish wondered why she didn’t just call her cell phone. In the living room, Wrestlemania had calmed down. They were collapsed against each other on the couch talking quietly.

“This tree is really nice.” Josh said. “Is it real?”

“No, that would have been too much work this year. Fake is good and I can leave the lights on all night without worrying about burning the building down.”

“Donna has a real tree…its like four feet tall and its lopsided. Just like the one on Charlie Brown.”

He and Sam snickered like teenage boys and Tish smiled. She wondered when Josh had time to check out his assistant’s tree.

“The kettle is whistling.” Sam said.

“Oh. Do you guys want cocoa?” she asked.

“Do you have whipped cream?” Josh asked.

“Yes.”

“Then I will have a cup, thank you.”

Sam wanted one too. Tish told her fiancée to grab the bag with the Christmas ornaments from the hall closet. Josh said he would help. It was only one bag but Tish shrugged as she went into the kitchen. She heard Sam giggle as she made the cocoa. Looking around the wall, she could not see them from that vantage point. Then there was a crash, Josh cursed, and Sam laughed louder.

“Don’t worry ma'am!” Josh shouted. “We are professionals and have it all under control.”

“If it’s broken, Josh did it.”

“Tattletale!”

They were content to sit and sip cocoa, listening to Christmas carols while Tish decorated the tree. She was a bit miffed that Sam wasn’t helping…this was something they planned to do together weeks ago.

“Today sucked.” Josh said out of nowhere.

“Hey, we promised not to talk about that anymore.”

“But Gibson…”

“Claypool and Cliff Calley put a stop to it.” Sam said. “I don’t know why but…”

“You know why Eyes. An offer is coming, and Leo is not going to take it. They are going to take him down and he will let them to protect us; to protect the President.”

“No. Hey, c’mon J. Come back to me.”

Tish turned around and watched Sam massage his best friend’s neck. Josh looked distraught; their faces were so close they practically kissed. It was a very intimate moment and she felt as if she were intruding. They didn’t even seem to notice she was there. Her cell phone buzzed and she answered it.

“Hello.”

“Hey big sis. I finally got you.”

“Suz? Why didn’t you call my cell phone earlier?”

“I couldn’t find mine. I had to call it, tell me how insane that is. Kimmy and I found it between the friggin couch cushions. What's up?”

She went into the bedroom to talk to her sister. She was living in Boston with her boyfriend Preston. Susan was studying for her Masters at Boston University and Preston attended Harvard for his MBA. They were engaged to be married.

“Suz, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.”

“How do you politely get rid of Preston’s drunken friends?”

“Oh God, that is a mess. Sometimes I'm subtle but depending on how drunk they are I just tell them to get out. Why?”

“Josh is here and Sam is only paying attention to him. I know it sounds silly, but I want Sam’s attention. We were supposed to decorate the tree together. It has been a touchy time but Sam finally has time off. They have him every damn day…I just want him for a little while.”

“I know what you mean. Preston and I have precious little time. I don’t want to share it with Jim, James, Paul, and Tyrone.”

“Or Josh.”

“Yeah, I get that. So you have to play the bad guy.”

“They didn’t have the best day today.” Tish reasoned.

“I saw it on TV. Leo McGarry is a stand-up guy; President Bartlet should feel blessed to call him a friend. I say that’s even more reason to separate the two of them. They do not need to sit around speculating and wallowing. Christmas is in two days.”

“Josh does not celebrate Christmas.” 

“What religion is he?” Susan asked.

“He worships regularly at the Church of Democrat.”

Susan laughed.

“Go and get your man. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“I think so. But if not I will definitely be there for Christmas dinner. Dad said Uncle Ryan is coming in tomorrow.”

Uncle Ryan was actually their father’s first cousin. He was so much older than the McTiernan kids were, they always called him Uncle.

“Yeah, his plane is coming into Reagan at 2:30. Is he really doing your wedding?”

“Of course, like I would let anyone else do it. He is willing to overlook Sam being a Presbyterian.”

“Ah, that pesky detail. That’s good of him. OK, I’ll see you and Sam tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.”

Tish flipped the phone closed, left it on the bed and headed back out into the living room. Wham played on the radio, most of the tree was decorated, and Sam and Josh were dancing. Their arms were around each other and they held hands swaying to the music.

“Isn't that cute? Sam, I thought you didn’t like to dance.”

“Josh refuses to let this song go by without dancing.”

“I love it.” Josh said. "Check it out, we helped with the tree.”

“We didn’t want to ruin it for you honey.” Sam said, his arms still around Josh. “We left the angel for you.”

“Wow, how diplomatic of you. Josh, don’t you think you should be going home? It’s been a long day, I know you could use some sleep, and I would like to spend a bit of time alone with my fiancée.”

“What? Oh yeah, I guess I should. Um, OK.”

“I will get your coat.”

Tish went to the closet, Josh and Sam following behind.

“Thanks for letting me come up. The cocoa was really delicious.”

Tish smiled, handing him his coat. He looked at his best friend.

“I'm getting out of your hair. Call me tomorrow to make sure I'm still alive.”

“Will do. Let me help you with your coat.”

Sam put the coat on and Josh kissed his lips.

“Merry Christmas…did I drool on you?” he wiped his lips but Sam just smiled.

“I'm OK, really.”

“Merry Christmas Tish.” He kissed her cheek. “Oh, you know what, I got you a gift.”

“Where is it?” she asked.

“Um, at home. I got you both gifts; you will love them.”

“Maybe you can bring them by in a few days or so.”

“Right, I will. Goodnight.”

“I need to hail a cab for you.” Sam said, grabbing his own coat.

“No man, I'm fine. I have it all under control.” As he was saying this, Josh’s feet went their own way and he stumbled face first into the door.

“You are not quite fine. I’ll be right back honey.”

“Sure.”

She watched them leave together. They left a mess in the living room that Tish was in no mood to clean up. Turning off the music, she went straight back to the bedroom. That was where Sam found her about 20 minutes later, changing into her pajamas.

“You didn’t put the angel on the tree.” He plopped down in the chair and started the slow task of taking off his shoes. He couldn’t believe he was still wearing them.

“We were supposed to do the tree Sam. Together.”

“I know honey, but…”

“But what? Josh totally crashed our party and you let him. He got every drop of your attention tonight; he always does.”

“It was a bad day Tish; and you know that.”

“Don’t you dare make this about me being insensitive. You two went to drink it off and then he should have gone home. You were so close with him tonight. I haven’t gotten that kind of attention or intimacy for weeks.”

“That’s not true, and you know it. I don’t know what you want me to say honey. He needed me.”

“I need you Sam!” she exclaimed.

“I don’t want to fight. I'm sorry that we didn’t decorate the tree together. I'm sorry that you're upset.”

“You're just apologizing because you don't want to talk about it. Don’t give me a bullshit apology.”

“Talk about what? Its not a bullshit apology.” He threw his hands up. “You know what, I don't want to talk about it. I want to sleep. It was a shitty day and it needs to be over.”

“We were supposed to have a good night.” 

“We still can.”

“You think I'm going to have sex with you; that’s definitely not going to happen. You just want to sleep. Its going to be nice and peaceful for you since I'm sleeping in the guestroom.”

“Tish! Don’t go; come to bed with me. C’mon Tish, don’t be like this.”

She walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her. He had no idea what was happening, but it was clear she was angry. Sam groaned and rubbed his temples. His head was killing him. Torn between chasing after her for answers or crashing and burning, the Deputy Communications Director chose sleep.

He really was beat; nothing was going to be accomplished tonight. The last thing he needed after the day he had was to spend his night arguing with his fiancée. He also didn’t want to spend it sleeping alone. At this point having one without the other did not seem like a possibility. Sam stripped down to his boxers and fell into bed. It didn’t take long for sleep to take him over but it wasn’t peaceful.

***

The next morning Sam woke up early; he always did after drinking. He stumbled into the bathroom; popped two Motrin and drank a whole bottle of water. He took what had to be the longest recorded pee in history. The condo was quiet and out in the living room he cleaned up most of last night’s mess. Their beautiful angel, a gift from Tish’s Aunt Pat, still lay in the chair. It didn’t seem right to put it on without her and since Sam didn’t want any more anger, he left it there. He put on a pot of coffee, opening the fridge. There was bacon, eggs, and a roll of sausage. It looked like Tish even bought bagels and muffins. Sam popped a cinnamon raisin bagel into the toaster oven and yawned.

Tish came in and they looked each other for a moment. Then Sam looked at his bare feet.

“I'm making coffee.” He said. “I thought about breakfast but I didn’t know when you were going to wake up.”

“I'm not hungry.” She went into the fridge for a bottle of cranberry juice.

“Tish…”

“What?”

She looked at him with hard brown eyes.

“Are we really going to fight today? Its Christmas Eve and all I want to do is be with you.”

“Well, isn’t that nice. I wanted to be with you last night and it didn’t matter to you. Maybe I will call up my girlfriends and spend all of our time with them. How would that make you feel Sam?”

“I wouldn’t like it.”

“Welcome to my world.”

“Josh needed me!” he exclaimed.

“I needed you! Why am I always last? I told you that I couldn’t be last in your life; you said you understood. God, all that Ivy League education and you don’t even think sometimes.”

“That’s not true. I do understand, but my job…”

“Oh, to hell with your job. Your job ended yesterday for the holidays and it was supposed to be our time. We get so little; I was really excited. And what do you do, you bring Josh home. You cuddle up on the couch, whisper quietly, touch softly. Hell, a simple word from Josh and you're dancing. How do you think…?”

“Tish…”

“Shut the hell up.”

Sam closed his mouth.

“OK, so I don’t get you all the time…I have to live with that. Its not as easy as you might think Sam. The time we have together means everything to me and I refuse to share it; I don’t care how selfish it sounds. Last night you were closer to Josh than we have been in weeks. I was jealous. I have to be jealous of your fucking best friend because he is getting his time and mine. Last night was supposed to be my time.”

Sam nodded. He knew what she meant. He knew they were supposed to be together last night, doing holiday things. Work had been stressful and truth be told he was looking forward to letting it all go to be with Tish.

“Bringing Josh home last night was insensitive. I just wasn’t thinking and there is no excuse for what I did. Our time together is very important to me too. You know that.”

“I couldn’t tell last night.” She crossed her arms.

“I fucked up, OK? I know that but I don’t know how many ways I can apologize. I can say I'm sorry, and I am sorry Tish, but there aren’t many more words I can say. I don't want to fight…I just want to be with you. C’mere honey.”

Tish stood by the refrigerator, she didn’t move. Sam held out his hand.

“C’mon Tish, please.”

She reached for his hand and he pulled her into a tight embrace. She wrapped her arms around him, holding on as tight as she could.

“I hated sleeping apart last night.” He whispered.

“I was not in the mood to play romantic when I was angry at you. I needed some space.”

“You're still angry, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “But I love you and I want to have a merry Christmas and…”

The phone rang and Sam reached for it. It was early so he figured it was important.

“Hello.”

“I'm alive. Barely.”

“That’s certainly good news.”

“I was thinking…”

“I'm just going to spend some quality time with Tish for a few days.” Sam said, cutting him off. “It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I just want to be with her. You know?”

“I totally get that. I’ll see you back at work on Tuesday.”

“Bright and early. We are going to handle this.”

“You got it. Thanks a lot for last night. I really needed you and you were there.”

“That’s what friends are for. Bye.”

Sam hung up the phone and kissed his fiancée.

“Can you handle just me and you for a few days?” he asked.

“Are you kidding me? I've only been looking forward to it since Thanksgiving. Was Josh OK with the brush off?”

“He was fine. I don’t ever want you to be jealous of him, Tish. Of course I love Josh…he is my dearest friend. But you are much more than that.”

“How much more?”

“You are my best friend. You are my confidante, my cheering section, my masseuse, my comedian; you are my everything. I love you, want to marry you, and spend the rest of my life as your husband.”

Tish smiled just thinking about it. She caressed his face, kissing him softly before Sam’s tongue turned the kisses into something more.

“I missed you last night.” He murmured against her lips. “We should never sleep apart if we don’t have to. It was all my fault honeybug.”

“I missed you too. There is a draft in that guest room; I was cold all night.”

“I could’ve kept you nice and warm.”

“Don’t think it didn’t enter my mind. I love you Sam.”

“I love you too.”

He picked her up in his arms, starting carrying her toward the bedroom.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I'm playing caveman. And caveman definitely wants to have his way with the woman he loves and desires.”

“Sam, your bagel, and the coffee…”

“All of it can wait. I'm hungry, but it has nothing to do with food.”

He laid Tish on the bed and smiled, reaching for him.

“We’re going to fight.” He said, relaxing in her arms and relishing her soft kisses. “Its an inevitable fact of life.”

“But?” she took off her tee shirt.

Seeing her topless nearly made Sam lose his train of thought. He closed his eyes and opened then again.

“We cannot set the world of Sam and Tish back on its axis without making up.”

“I agree.”

She kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. Sam pulled her legs apart, settling his body there. Tish loved the feel of his body on hers.

“Mmm, Sam.”

“Say that again.”

“Mmm.”

His tongue trailed across her neck before he gently bit her shoulder.

“I feared the numbing kiss of those women of winter,” he whispered. “Whose tragedy made less of life, whose love was more than love of literature.”

“You're so sexy when you quote Walcott.”

“You're sexy all the time honey.”

Tish laughed, rolling them over on the mattress. Sam didn’t mind surrendering to her attention and affection. Christmas was tomorrow but this was truly the best gift he could ask for.

“Do you love me?” she asked, stripping him of his boxers.

“I do. I love you madly Atisha Caroline McTiernan. I want you to fuck me good.”

“I love it when you talk dirty Sparky. It turns me on.”

He didn’t know if he was really any good at talking dirty but he knew how good Tish was with taking he and his body to another place. She was in the driver’s seat this morning and Sam held on to the dashboard for dear life, enjoying the ride. Her mouth was so hot on his skin, pushing him to the edge over and over before she finally let him freefall to a soft landing.

“Oh God! Tish! Oh God!”

He loved to scream her name; loved to be a prisoner in her mouth until all he could do was writhe and beg. They spooned when they made love. It was a new position for them but Sam loved it. He was able to touch everywhere…give it to Tish every way she wanted it.

“Don't stop!” she groaned, grabbing the sheet underneath her. “Oh Sam, Sam, more, harder! Oh God, that feels so good.”

He wanted to make her feel good. He thrust harder, crying her named through clenched teeth as he felt himself coming. His hand found her clit and he touched her there…the ride was over for them at the same time. It was an explosion, and they came down from the blast slowly. Sam lingered inside her before falling breathless onto the bed.

“Oh God, that was fantastic.” He said. 

“It really was.”

Tish curled around him; Sam stroked her back as they kissed. They fell asleep together for the best nap either had in a long time.

***


End file.
